For companies that are manufacturing, distribution or purchasing centric, now is the time to embrace supply chain visibility. You may be asking why visibility is so important and why a consulting company like enVista is so adamant about selecting and implementing supply chain visibility solutions. The answer lies in data synchronization across multiple trading or logistics partners, near time data and information flow that mirrors physical inventory flow, and the need to minimize variability. As organizations continue to extend their supply chains to other countries to lower costs, variability is increased due to the unknown variable of time. The fact is that time is every company's worst enemy. Everyone is fighting the variability of time and trying to develop their supply chains to meet or exceed customer expectations. I like to think of this as “delivery with integrity”; meaning, delivering the order to the end customer before or on the delivery date. But how can you possibly promise the order to the end customer on the promised delivery date if you don't have VISIBILITY that is end-to-end, or what I call source to consumption?

Not only is supply chain globalization making it the opportune time to focus on end-to-end visibility, but solution providers are now offering low-cost solutions for end-to-end visibility, data analytics, decision support and event management. More importantly, they are providing the solutions in a (SaaS) model or on demand. I like to think of these solution providers as a logistics utility company. They are providing data synchronization across multiple trading partners and channels, visibility to both inbound and outbound work in process, and finished goods inventory.

For those of us who grew up in manufacturing (as I did) and studied Edward Deming, Philip Crosby, Eli Goldratt and even Toyota Production Systems, the first and foremost thing we were taught was to minimize variability by reducing cycle times. The same manufacturing principles apply to the extended supply chain; you must understand the variability of your supply chain, if it is statically in control, where the variability lies, and how to measure it. LEAN is now the new buzz word, but LEAN is based upon the same principles that have been around since the Industrial Revolution - waste reduction focused on reducing variability.

Now is the time to focus on visibility. The technology platforms, predefined processes and resources exist to enable end-to-end data synchronization and visibility across your supply chain. To be competitive in today's market, visibility is not a ‘nice to have' solution, it is mandatory. You have a choice, you can be “supply chain blind” or you can be “supply chain sighted.” Visibility solutions like GT Nexus, Trade Beam and Management Dynamics can help companies break down barriers (silos) and provide one “version of the truth.”

enVista has helped many companies develop the ROI and select and implement solutions and processes that enable visibility from source to consumption. The ultimate result is the enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty, supply chain efficiencies and cost reduction. I invite you to check out our Supply Chain Visibility podcast, blog, and white paper or contact us for more information.

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